ⓘ Details

Movie TitleThe Other Guys

Release DateAugust 6, 2010

TaglineWhen the cops are busy... our only hope is...

Runtime107 minutes

DirectorAdam McKay

Screenplay Written ByAdam McKay & Chris Henchy

Based OnOriginal screenplay

Is It a Remake?No. The Other Guys is an original buddy-cop action comedy and genre parody.

BudgetApproximately $85–100 million, depending on source

Box OfficeApprox. $119.2 million domestic / Approx. $170.9 million worldwide

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👥 Main Cast

Will FerrellDetective Allen Gamble

Mark WahlbergDetective Terry Hoitz

Eva MendesDr. Sheila Gamble

Michael KeatonCaptain Gene Mauch

Steve CooganDavid Ershon

Ray StevensonRoger Wesley

Dwayne JohnsonDetective Christopher Danson

Samuel L. JacksonDetective P.K. Highsmith

Rob RiggleDetective Martin

Damon Wayans Jr.Detective Fosse

Lindsay SloaneFrancine

Natalie ZeaChristinith

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🏆 Awards

⭐ The Comedy Awards Winner — Best Comedy Film

⭐ The Comedy Awards Nominee — Best Comedy Actor, Film: Will Ferrell

⭐ The Comedy Awards Nominee — Best Comedy Director, Film: Adam McKay

⭐ Teen Choice Awards Nominee — Choice Movie: Comedy

⭐ Teen Choice Awards Nominee — Choice Movie Actor: Comedy, Will Ferrell

⭐ Teen Choice Awards Nominee — Choice Movie Actress: Comedy, Eva Mendes

⭐ Teen Choice Awards Nominee — Choice Movie Chemistry, Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg

⭐ No Academy Award, Golden Globe, BAFTA, or Saturn Award nominations were verified for the film.

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📖 Short Plot Summary

In a New York police department dominated by flashy action heroes, Detectives Allen Gamble and Terry Hoitz are the overlooked desk cops stuck doing paperwork, financial cases, and office humiliation. After the department’s superstar detectives are suddenly out of the picture, Allen and Terry stumble into a massive corporate fraud case involving billionaire David Ershon. As they bicker, misfire, chase leads, wreck cars, and accidentally expose a much bigger conspiracy, the “other guys” finally get their chance to prove they are more than background cops.

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❝ Key Quotes

“Aim for the bushes.” — Detective P.K. Highsmith

“I’m a peacock, Captain! You gotta let me fly!” — Terry Hoitz

“Desk pop!” — Allen Gamble

“You learned to dance like that sarcastically?” — Terry Hoitz

“I’m gonna find a baby mouse and I’m gonna make it really sick.” — Terry Hoitz

“Gator don’t play no shit.” — Allen Gamble

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💡 Trivia

Director

The Other Guys was directed by Adam McKay, who co-wrote the screenplay with Chris Henchy.
The film continued McKay’s run of Will Ferrell collaborations after Anchorman, Talladega Nights, and Step Brothers.
McKay described the idea as emerging after seeing the comic chemistry between Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg.
The movie is both a buddy-cop parody and an early McKay comedy with a sharp financial-corruption angle.
The end-credit graphics underline the film’s critique of corporate fraud, bailouts, and Wall Street excess.

Cast / Casting

Will Ferrell plays Allen Gamble, a mild-mannered forensic accountant whose past life as “Gator” keeps getting more ridiculous.
Mark Wahlberg plays Terry Hoitz, a hotheaded detective stuck at a desk after accidentally shooting Derek Jeter.
Michael Keaton plays Captain Gene Mauch, who keeps accidentally quoting TLC lyrics while working a second job at Bed Bath & Beyond.
Dwayne Johnson and Samuel L. Jackson play Danson and Highsmith, the over-the-top action-cop icons whose exit kicks the plot into gear.
Eva Mendes plays Sheila Gamble, Allen’s wife, in a running joke built around Terry’s inability to understand how Allen landed her.
Rob Riggle and Damon Wayans Jr. play rival detectives Martin and Fosse.

Soundtrack / Score

The score was composed by Jon Brion.
The soundtrack includes tracks and cues from artists such as TLC, Little River Band, Goldfrapp, Rage Against the Machine, Donovan, CeeLo Green, and more.
The fake music-video energy of “Pimps Don’t Cry” became one of the movie’s most absurd side jokes.
Michael Keaton’s Captain Mauch repeatedly slips TLC lyrics into normal conversations without seeming to know it.
The film uses music to bounce between action parody, awkward office comedy, and Allen’s deeply cursed romantic backstory.

Location

The movie is set largely in New York City.
IMDb lists filming locations including Coney Island, Manhattan, Brooklyn, Staten Island, and Hartsdale, New York.
Downtown Albany, New York was used for action and chase-scene filming, including car chases, simulated gunfire, crashes, and helicopter work.
On the Set of New York lists locations including Madison Square Garden, Broadway near Battery Place, Morris Street, and 555 West 18th Street.
The city setting lets the film spoof the oversized police-action geography of classic buddy-cop movies while still grounding the case in financial-crime satire.

Behind-The-Scenes

Principal photography began September 23, 2009 in New York City.
Additional scenes were filmed in Albany, Westchester, and Staten Island, New York.
The famous “night of drinking” freeze-frame sequence used motion-control camera work to create the frozen tableau effect.
Downtown Albany stood in for New York in major chase material, with action and stunt work filmed there.
The film opened at number one at the domestic box office, earning $35.5 million in its opening weekend.
Its worldwide box office total reached approximately $170.9 million.

Nostalgia

The Other Guys has grown into one of the most quoted studio comedies of the 2010s.
“Aim for the bushes,” “desk pop,” “Gator don’t play no shit,” and “I’m a peacock” are now comedy-nerd shorthand.
The film arrived near the tail end of the big theatrical Will Ferrell studio-comedy era.
It also feels like a bridge between McKay’s broad absurdist comedies and his later interest in politics, money, and institutional failure.
The Samuel L. Jackson / Dwayne Johnson opening plays like the movie burning through an entire separate action franchise in ten minutes.

Easter Eggs

The Derek Jeter incident explains why Terry is stuck behind a desk and gives the film one of its best New York-specific jokes.
Captain Mauch’s TLC references include lyrics from songs such as “No Scrubs,” “Creep,” and “Waterfalls.”
Allen’s “Gator” past turns the mild accountant into a bizarre parody of crime-movie backstories.
The end credits use real financial-crisis-style data and graphics to connect the comedy’s fictional Ponzi scheme to broader economic commentary.
The title refers to the background cops who normally do the boring work while movie-star cops get all the attention.

Misc.

The Other Guys is rated PG-13 for crude and sexual content, language, violence, and some drug material.
Rotten Tomatoes classifies the movie as comedy and action.
Box Office Mojo classifies it as action, comedy, crime, and thriller.
The movie won Best Comedy Film at the first Comedy Awards.
Your 3 Guys and a Flick ratings page lists the episode as Episode 226, with Don rating it 4.00, Ken rating it 2.50, Jon rating it 3.50, and an overall rating of 3.33.

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